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| Table 305. | Statistical profile of persons receiving doctor's degrees in the life sciences: Selected years, 1979–80 through 2003–04 |
| Selected characteristic | 1979–80 | 1989–90 | 1990–91 | 1992–93 | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999– 2000 |
2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Number of degrees | 5,325 | 6,605 | 6,933 | 7,395 | 7,739 | 7,918 | 8,255 | 8,213 | 8,540 | 8,126 | 8,529 | 8,296 | 8,350 | 8,369 | 8,819 |
| Sex (percent) | |||||||||||||||
| Male | 74.8 | 62.6 | 61.4 | 58.3 | 58.4 | 57.9 | 56.5 | 55.0 | 54.5 | 55.3 | 53.1 | 52.8 | 52.3 | 51.7 | 50.5 |
| Female | 25.2 | 37.4 | 41.7 | 41.7 | 41.6 | 42.1 | 43.5 | 45.0 | 45.5 | 44.7 | 46.9 | 47.2 | 47.7 | 48.3 | 49.5 |
| Racial/ethnic group (percent)1 | |||||||||||||||
| White | 91.8 | 89.6 | 88.0 | 85.1 | 78.2 | 74.9 | 75.5 | 77.5 | 78.5 | 78.5 | 80.1 | 80.4 | 79.8 | 80.1 | 79.9 |
| Black | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.8 |
| Hispanic | 1.1 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| Asian2 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 8.7 | 15.7 | 18.5 | 17.9 | 15.3 | 13.6 | 13.4 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 12.1 | 11.4 | 10.6 |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Citizenship (percent) | |||||||||||||||
| United States | 80.4 | 68.0 | 66.8 | 65.3 | 64.0 | 63.1 | 60.7 | 62.0 | 61.9 | 63.0 | 64.6 | 65.0 | 63.8 | 64.9 | 64.8 |
| Foreign | 17.6 | 26.3 | 29.1 | 32.6 | 34.9 | 35.2 | 37.0 | 31.7 | 31.4 | 33.4 | 31.6 | 29.6 | 29.9 | 30.6 | 30.0 |
| Unknown | 2.0 | 5.6 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 6.3 | 4.6 | 5.2 |
| Median age at doctorate (years) | 30.0 | 32.3 | 32.4 | 32.5 | 32.7 | 32.4 | 32.5 | 32.3 | 32.3 | 32.1 | 32.1 | 31.8 | 31.9 | 31.8 | 31.7 |
| Percent with bachelor's degree in same field as doctorate | 40.9 | 53.8 | 54.1 | 51.9 | 51.0 | 50.8 | 49.2 | 46.9 | 48.9 | 47.0 | 49.3 | 47.3 | 47.4 | 47.8 | 48.4 |
| Median time lapse (years) to doctorate | |||||||||||||||
| Since bachelor's degree completion | 7.3 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.6 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.8 | 8.7 |
| Since starting graduate school | 5.8 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| 1 Distribution by race/ethnicity based on U.S. citizens and those with permanent visas only. 2 Does not include Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders. NOTE: Longitudinal comparisons by race/ethnicity should be done with extreme care, due to periodic changes in the survey. In particular, large numbers of Asians converted from temporary visas to permanent visas in the mid-1990s. The classification of degrees by field used in this survey differs somewhat from that in most publications of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Includes agricultural, biological, and health sciences. The total number of degrees also differs slightly from that reported in the NCES Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) "Completions Survey." Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic origin. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: Doctorate Recipients From United States Universities, 2004, Survey of Earned Doctorates, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Education, National Endowment for the Humanities, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (This table was prepared May 2006.) |
